Satellite network service sharing

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices are described for providing network access services to mobile users via mobile terminals over a satellite system. In embodiments, dynamic multiplexing of traffic from fixed terminals and mobile users on the same satellite beam can take advantage of statistical multiplexing of large numbers of users and on different usage patterns between fixed terminals and mobile users. In embodiments, quality-of-service (QoS) is controlled for mobile devices at a per-user level. Mobile users may be provisioned on the satellite system according to a set of traffic policies based on their service level agreement (SLA). System resources of the satellite may be allocated to mobile users based on the demand of each mobile user and the set of traffic polices associated with each mobile user, regardless of which mobile terminal is used to access the system.

CROSS REFERENCES

The present application for patent is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/215,993 by Johnson, et al., entitled, “SatelliteNetwork Service Sharing”, filed Mar. 17, 2014, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/799,216 by Johnson et al.,entitled “Satellite Network Service Sharing,” filed Mar. 15, 2013,assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications in general,and in particular, to broadband satellite communications networks.

As demand for broadband communications continues to grow around theworld, broadband satellite communication networks have been deployed andcontinue to be developed to address that demand.

SUMMARY

Methods, systems, and devices are described for providing high-qualityand consistent network access service to mobile users who receivenetwork access service via mobile terminals that provide serviceconcurrently to multiple mobile users. In embodiments, the satellitesystem 100 is configured to dynamically multiplex traffic from fixedterminals and mobile users on the same satellite beams. As demand fromfixed terminals and mobile users varies over time, system resources maybe allocated for each time period (e.g., frame, epoch, etc.) accordingto the demand and traffic policies for each fixed terminal and mobileuser. Because usage patterns vary between fixed terminals and mobileusers, multiplexing of a commonly provisioned resource pool for fixedterminals and mobile users may increase the efficiency of statisticalmultiplexing for the system resources (e.g., frequency, time, etc.) ofthe satellite system.

In embodiments, the system is configured to control QoS for networkaccess service for mobile devices accessing the system through themobile terminals at a per-user level. The mobile users 180 may have anexisting SLA with the satellite networking provider or may sign up forservice according to an SLA upon connecting to one of the mobileterminals 170. The mobile users 180 may be provisioned on the satellitesystem 100 according to a set of traffic policies based on their SLA.System resources of the satellite may be allocated to mobile users basedon the demand of each mobile user and the set of traffic policesassociated with each mobile user, regardless of which mobile terminal isused to access the system. Allocation of system resources to mobileusers based on demand and/or user-specific traffic policies may beperformed (for FL and/or RL) by scheduling of system resources and/ortraffic shaping of data traffic streams. For example, traffic flow maybe controlled individually for each mobile user using forward linktraffic shaping at the satellite gateway and/or return link trafficshaping at the mobile terminal. In embodiments, per-user QoS is combinedwith dynamic multiplexing of traffic from fixed terminals and mobileusers on the same satellite beams to provide enhanced QoS for mobileusers with flexible bandwidth allocation and improved statisticalmultiplexing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be realized by reference to the followingdrawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features mayhave the same reference label. Further, various components of the sametype may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash anda second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If onlythe first reference label is used in the specification, the descriptionis applicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of an example satellite communicationssystem 100 in which the principles included herein may be described

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a commonly provisionedresource pool for fixed terminals and mobile terminals serving mobileusers in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating dynamic multiplexing oftraffic from fixed terminals and mobile users on the same satellite beamin accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of aspects of a satellite communications system forproviding network access service to mobile users via mobile terminalswith per-user quality of service in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a core node for managing traffic flow toprovide per-user quality of service in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram illustrating aspects of providingper-user quality of service for mobile devices connected to mobileterminals in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a simplified diagram illustrating aspects of return linktraffic shaping for providing per-user quality of service for mobiledevices connected to mobile terminals in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a network resource scheduler inaccordance with various embodiments

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart diagram of an example method ofallocating resources in a satellite communications system providingper-user quality of service for mobile devices and dynamic multiplexingof traffic from fixed terminals and mobile users on the same satellitebeams in accordance with various embodiments

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart diagram of an example method ofallocating resources in a satellite communications system providingper-user quality of service for mobile devices in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart diagram of an example method for dynamicmultiplexing of traffic from fixed terminals and mobile users on thesame satellite beams in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This description provides examples, and is not intended to limit thescope, applicability or configuration of embodiments of the principlesdescribed herein. Rather, the ensuing description will provide thoseskilled in the art with an enabling description for implementingembodiments of the principles described herein. Various changes may bemade in the function and arrangement of elements.

Thus, various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add variousprocedures or components as appropriate. For instance, it should beappreciated that the methods may be performed in an order different thanthat described, and that various steps may be added, omitted orcombined. Also, aspects and elements described with respect to certainembodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. It should alsobe appreciated that the following systems, methods, devices, andsoftware may individually or collectively be components of a largersystem, wherein other procedures may take precedence over or otherwisemodify their application.

Communication satellites have evolved from one-way broadcast servicessuch as broadcast television service to bi-directional network accessservices such as Internet access, telephony, streaming media, privatenetworking, and/or other networking services. Generally, satellitenetwork access services are provided via satellite terminals that cantransmit and receive to a satellite via beams of the satellite. Eachterminal within the coverage area of a satellite beam shares systemresources (e.g., system bandwidth, time, etc.) with the other terminalslocated within the beam. Service may be provided for subscribers byallocating system resources of the service beam to each terminalaccording to a service level agreement (SLA) between the satellitenetworking provider and the subscriber (or subscribers) associated withthe terminal. The SLA may specify Quality of Service (QoS) to beprovided at the terminal according to a set of traffic policies (e.g.,rate-based, usage-based, time-based, etc.). For example, QoS forterminals may be specified by a minimum information rate (MinIR),committed information rate (CIR), peak information rate (PIR), a maximumamount of data (e.g., 2 GB/month), and/or the like.

Communication satellites may be single-beam satellites covering ageographical area with a single beam or multi-beam satellites coveringgeographical areas with a number of spot beams. A spot beam is asatellite signal focused on a limited geographic area of the Earth. Byreducing the coverage area of the beam, a more directional antenna maybe used by the satellite to transmit data to and receive data from aregion of the Earth. Because the gain of an antenna is typicallyproportional to its directionality, a spot beam may be transmitted at ahigher gain than a satellite signal with a wider coverage area at thesame amount of power. This higher gain can produce bettersignal-to-noise (SNR) ratio at the terminal, which allows for higherrates of data transfer between the satellite and terminals. As anotherexample, less transmitter power is required for terminals to transmit tospot-beam satellites, allowing for smaller and less expensive terminals.Additionally, spot-beam satellites include the ability to reuse the samefrequency bands and channels throughout the spot-beam pattern andassociated coverage area.

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of an example satellite communicationssystem 100 in which the principles included herein may be described. Thesatellite communications system 100 may be any suitable type ofsatellite system, including a geostationary satellite system, mediumearth orbit (MEO), or low earth orbit (LEO) satellite system. Inembodiments, satellite communications system 100 includes one or moregeostationary multi-beam satellites 105 configured to communicate withsubscriber terminals 130 located within a defined geographical servicearea. Each subscriber terminal 130 is located within at least oneservice beam 135 and is capable of two-way communication with thesatellite 105 via an antenna 125. Each subscriber terminal 130 may beconnected with (e.g., may provide network access service for) one ormore customer devices 160 (e.g., desktop computers, laptops, set-topboxes, smartphones, tablets, Internet-enabled televisions, and thelike). These customer devices 160 may also be known as customer premisesequipment (CPE).

The network 120 may be any suitable type of network and may connect thegateway system 115 with other gateway systems, which may also be incommunication with the satellite(s) 105. Alternatively, a separatenetwork linking gateways and other nodes may be employed tocooperatively service user traffic. The gateway system 115 may belocated within the service area, or may be located outside of theservice area in various embodiments.

The operation of satellite communications system 100 can be separatedinto a forward (downstream) direction and a return (upstream) direction.In the forward direction or forward link (FL), data arrives at gateway115 from network 120, gateway 115 transmits that data up to satellite105 over forward feeder links 135, and satellite 105 relays that datadown in forward service links 145 to subscriber terminals 130. In thereturn direction or return link (RL), subscriber terminals 130 transmitreturn service links 150 up to satellite 105, satellite 105 relays thatdata down to gateway 115 in return feeder links 140, and gateway 115forwards that data to network 120.

The gateway system 115 may be configured to format the data andinformation along with control signals for delivery via the satellite105 to the respective subscriber terminals 130. The gateway system 115may format the data and information using a modulation and coding scheme(MCS) that may be custom to the satellite or similar to others in theindustry. Satellites may also employ Adaptive Coding and Modulation(ACM) or Variable Coding and Modulation (VCM) to vary the MCS dependingon channel conditions and/or other factors. Similarly, the gatewaysystem 115 may also be configured to receive signals from the satellite105 (e.g., from one or more subscriber terminals 130) that are directedto a destination in the network 120.

The gateway system 115 may use an antenna 110 to transmit signals to andreceive signals from the satellite 105. In one embodiment, ageostationary satellite 105 is configured to receive signals from theantenna and within the frequency band and specific polarizationtransmitted. In one embodiment, the satellite 105 operates in amulti-beam mode, transmitting a number (e.g., typically 20-150, etc.) ofspot beams each directed at a different region of the earth. This canallow coverage of a relatively large geographical area and frequencyre-use within the covered area. Spot beams for communication withsubscriber terminals 130 may be called service beams while spot beamsfor communication with gateways may be called feeder beams. Inembodiments, the service beams are fixed location spot beams, meaningthat the angular beam width and coverage area for each service beam doesnot intentionally vary with time.

With such a multi-beam satellite, there may be a number of differentsignal switching configurations, allowing signals from a single gatewaysystem 115 to be switched between different spot beams. The signalstransmitted from the satellite 105 may be received by one or moresubscriber terminals 130 via a respective subscriber antenna 125.Similarly, signals transmitted from the subscriber terminals 130 via therespective subscriber antennas 125 may be received at the satellite 105and directed to the gateway system 115 from the satellite 105.

Each service beam of the satellite 105 supports the terminals 130 withinits coverage area (e.g., providing uplink and downlink resources).Frequency re-use between spot beams may be provided by assigning one, ormore, ranges of frequencies (which may be referred to as channels) toeach spot beam and/or by use of orthogonal polarizations. A particularfrequency range and/or polarization may be called a “color,” andfrequency re-use in a tiled spot beam satellite system may be accordingto color. The coverage of different beams may be non-overlapping or havevarying measures of overlap. In one embodiment, spot beams of thesatellite 105 may be tiled and partially overlapping to provide completeor almost complete coverage for a relatively large geographical area(e.g., the Contiguous United States (CONUS), etc.) where partiallyoverlapping or adjacent beams use different ranges of frequencies and/orpolarizations. Each beam may contain a gateway, user terminals, or agateway and user terminals. Gateway beams and service beams may also beseparated from each other to allow frequency reuse between gateway anduser beams. In some embodiments, satellite(s) 105 includes multiplesatellites, each satellite providing coverage for a service area, whereservice areas for different satellites are non-overlapping oroverlapping. One or more satellites may have more narrowly focusedservice beams providing higher data rates to regions with more elevateddemand.

Increasingly, users desire to have network access service through mobiledevices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets, netbooks, and the like)while travelling. For example, there is a growing demand for networkaccess service during air travel. Satellite communications systemsoriginally designed for providing network access service tofixed-location terminals (e.g., subscriber terminals 130) can alsoprovide network access service on airplanes (or other modes oftransportation) through mobile terminals installed on the airplanes.Users can connect their mobile devices to the mobile terminal via wiredor wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.) connections and network access isprovided via the service beams of the satellite(s). While existingsatellite systems can provide network access service to mobile users,providing a quality network access experience to mobile users thatconnect via mobile terminals that each provide network access service toa number of mobile users concurrently provides several challenges.

Typically, a mobile network access service provider that providesservice via mobile terminals purchases a fixed portion of systemresources (e.g., specific carriers of a frequency spectrum, a fixedamount of bandwidth, and the like) from a satellite operator to supportthe provided network access service. This fixed portion of systemresources is then divided up by the mobile network access serviceprovider to support each mobile terminal (e.g., equally, according toaggregate demand of users supported by the terminal, etc.). In this typeof service structure, if the mobile network access service provider buysenough system resources to provide adequate service for all usersconnected during peak use of the mobile service, these system resourcesmay be under-utilized during less congested times. If, however, themobile network access service provider buys fewer system resources toreduce the under-utilization of purchased resources during un-congestedtimes, users will experience poor quality service during times of morecongested use. Thus, the mobile network access service provider attemptsto anticipate demand, which may lead to under-utilization of purchasedresources if the provider over-anticipates demand or a poor quality userexperience where the provider under-anticipates demand.

Further, some users may take up a disproportionate share of the systemresources of the mobile service, degrading the experience for otherusers. While it may be possible to restrict some types of traffic (e.g.,high definition video, etc.), managing traffic flow for service providedthrough satellite terminals presents several challenges. For example,when network access is provided to multiple devices through an accesspoint (e.g., Wi-Fi router, etc.), the access point is assigned(statically or dynamically) a public address (e.g., public IPv4 or IPv6address) by a service provider. Typically, the access point maintains aprivate network for the connected devices with a private address spaceand performs network address translation (NAT) to control traffic flowbetween the devices and external networks (e.g., the Internet). Thus,traffic streams to or from multiple devices behind the access point willappear to nodes on an external network (e.g., the Internet) asassociated with the same point (e.g., the public IP address of theaccess point). In a communication network where bandwidth is limitedbetween external networks and the access point, managing downstreamtraffic individually for each device behind the access point maytherefore be challenging, because the external network may not be ableto identify packets destined for individual devices. While the accesspoint can identify downstream traffic for individual devices todistribute the traffic correctly, once the traffic reaches the accesspoint, it has already caused congestion of the bandwidth limited networklink.

These and other issues of providing satellite network access service viamobile terminals typically result in inconsistent user experiencesranging from good connectivity at times to poor or even unusableconnectivity at other times, often within the same session (e.g., thesame flight, etc.).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the satellite communication system 100 mayalso provide network access service to mobile users 180-a-1 to 180-a-nvia mobile terminals 170. Each mobile user 180-a-1 to 180-a-n (via amobile device 175, etc.), may be provided service on the satellitecommunication system 100 by connecting (e.g., via a wired or wirelessconnection) to a mobile terminal 170. As illustrated in FIG. 1, mobiledevices 175-a-1 to 175-a-n are connected via wired or wirelessconnections (e.g., Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) to an airplane-mounted mobileterminal 170-a. Mobile terminal 170-a receives data from satellite(s)105 via forward link 155-a and transmits data to satellite(s) 105 viareturn link 160-a. While satellite communication system 100 isillustrated providing mobile network access service to mobile users 180aboard airplane 185-a, it can be appreciated that the principlesdescribed herein for providing network access service to mobile usersmay be provided using mobile terminals positioned in fixed locations oron various modes of transportation where multiple mobile users maydesire network access via satellite communications system 100 (e.g.,trains, boats, busses, etc.).

In embodiments, the satellite system 100 is configured to providehigh-quality and consistent network access service to mobile users whoreceive network access service via mobile terminals that provide serviceconcurrently to multiple mobile users. In embodiments, the satellitesystem 100 is configured to dynamically multiplex traffic from fixedterminals and mobile users on the same satellite beams. As demand fromfixed terminals and mobile users varies over time, system resources maybe allocated for each time period (e.g., frame, epoch, etc.) accordingto demand and traffic policies for each fixed terminal and mobile user.Because usage patterns vary between fixed terminals and mobile users,multiplexing fixed terminals and mobile users over a commonlyprovisioned resource pool may increase the resources (e.g., frequency,time, etc.) available to each fixed terminal and/or mobile user on astatistical basis.

In embodiments, the system is configured to control QoS for networkaccess service for mobile devices accessing the system through themobile terminals at a per-user level. The mobile users 180 may have anexisting SLA with the satellite networking provider or may sign up forservice according to an SLA upon connecting to one of the mobileterminals 170. The mobile users 180 may be provisioned on the satellitesystem 100 according to a set of traffic policies based on their SLA.System resources of the satellite may be allocated to mobile users basedon the demand of each mobile user and the set of traffic policesassociated with each mobile user, regardless of which mobile terminal isused to access the system. Allocation of system resources to mobileusers based on demand and/or user-specific traffic policies may beperformed (for FL and/or RL) by scheduling of system resources and/ortraffic shaping of data traffic streams. For example, traffic flow maybe controlled individually for each mobile user using forward linktraffic shaping at the satellite gateway and/or return link trafficshaping at the mobile terminal. In embodiments, per-user trafficpolicies are combined with dynamic multiplexing of traffic from fixedterminals and mobile users on the same satellite beams to provideenhanced QoS for mobile users with flexible bandwidth allocation andimproved efficiency of statistical multiplexing.

Returning to FIG. 1, fixed satellite terminals 130-a to 130-n and mobileterminal 170-1 may be serviced by the same satellite beam of amulti-beam satellite 105. The satellite system 100 may be configured todynamically allocate portions (up to all) of system resources of thesatellite beam to fixed satellite terminals 130-a to 130-n and mobileterminal 170-1 from a commonly scheduled resource pool depending on thedemands of each fixed satellite terminal 130 and mobile user 180 and/ortraffic policies associated with each fixed terminal and/or mobile user.

FIG. 2A is a diagram 200-a illustrating a commonly provisioned resourcepool for fixed terminals and mobile terminals serving mobile users inaccordance with various embodiments. FIG. 2A may illustrate, forexample, provisioned resources for a satellite beam of satellite system100 in un-congested conditions. For clarity, the satellite beam isillustrated as providing service for a small number of mobile terminalsand fixed terminals. However, it should be understood that each beam mayserve thousands or more of fixed terminals and dozens or hundreds ofmobile terminals, where each mobile terminals may provide network accessservice for dozens or hundreds of connected mobile users. In addition,it should be understood that mobile users may be connected to mobileterminals on a transient basis and may receive service from differentmobile terminals 170 under the same SLA. Mobile users may establish anaccount for service according to an SLA and then connect to multiplemobile terminals 170 using their account information as they travel. Forexample, the mobile user may connect to a first mobile terminal 170 onan airplane flight, connect to a second mobile terminal 170 at a fixedlocation (e.g., coffee shop, etc.), and connect to a third mobileterminal 170 on a return flight. It should also be appreciated that thenumber of mobile users connected to each mobile terminal 170 may varyover time (e.g., based on take-rate of the service on particularflights, airplane capacity, etc.).

In FIG. 2A, fixed terminals (e.g., subscriber terminals 130, etc.) maybe provisioned (e.g., for FL and/or RL) for service according toterminal-specific traffic policies including CIR 220 and/or PIR 225. Theterminal-specific traffic policies may be based on SLAs between thefixed terminal subscribers and the satellite network service provider.For example, fixed terminal 130-a may be provisioned for CIR 220-a andPIR 225-a while fixed terminal 130-n may be provisioned for CIR 220-nand PIR 225-n. Other fixed terminals 130 may be provisioned for servicein a similar manner and different fixed terminals may be provisioned fordifferent service levels (not shown).

In FIG. 2A, mobile users may be provisioned (e.g., for FL and/or RL) forservice according to user-specific traffic policies that may berate-based, usage-based, and/or time-based. For example, user 180-a-1may be provisioned for CIR 240-a-1 and PIR 245-a-1 and user 180-a-n maybe provisioned for CIR 240-a-n and PIR 245-a-n. Other users connected tothe mobile terminal 170-a may be provisioned for service in a similarmanner and different levels of service may be offered. For example, athird user 180 may be provisioned for CIR 250-a-2 and PIR 255-a-2. Users180 connected to other mobile terminals 170 may be provisioned in asimilar manner. For example, user B1, user B2, and user BN connected toa second mobile terminal 170 may be provisioned for CIR 240-b-1 and PIR245-b-1, CIR 250-b-2 and PIR 255-b-2, and CIR 240-b-n and PIR 245-b-2,respectively. Provisioned resources 230 may represent the aggregateprovisioned resources for users connected to a satellite network accessterminal that provides service to multiple users 180 according touser-specific traffic policies (e.g., mobile terminals 170). Forexample, provisioned resources 230-a may represent provisioned resourcesfor users connected to one multi-user satellite network access terminaland provisioned resources 230-b may represent provisioned resources forusers connected to a different multi-user satellite network accessterminal.

In FIG. 2A, multiplexed satellite beam resources 210-a may representaggregate multiplexed provisioned resources for the satellite beam. Forexample, multiplexed satellite beam resources 210-a may represent anaggregate forward link PIR for all fixed satellite terminals and mobileusers serviced by the beam and may be greater than the physicalresources of the satellite beam.

Where the satellite beam is uncongested, as is illustrated in FIG. 2A,some fixed satellite terminals 130 and/or mobile users 180 can use up totheir assigned PIR while other terminals are using fewer resources.Typically, the instantaneous demand for fixed satellite terminals andmobile users serviced by a beam will be substantially lower than thetheoretical demand based on the peak usage rates for each fixed terminaland mobile user. Thus, the multiplexed satellite beam resources 210-amay be substantially greater than instantaneous demand based on theprovisioned resources to each fixed terminal 130 and mobile user 180.

FIG. 2B is a diagram 200-b illustrating a commonly provisioned resourcepool for fixed terminals and mobile terminals serving mobile users inaccordance with various embodiments. FIG. 2B may illustrate, forexample, the effects of network congestion on the provisioned resourcesillustrated in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2B may illustrate how congestion of the satellite beam affectsscheduling of resources in the satellite system. As illustrated in FIG.2B, when the resource demand for a substantial number of users increasesto the point that the demand approaches the physical resource capacityof the satellite beam, the allocated resources for each fixed terminaland/or mobile user may be further constrained (e.g., by CIR, MinIR,etc.). While the provided capacity for each fixed terminal and mobileuser is more constrained in FIG. 2B, each fixed terminal and mobile usermay still receive a portion of system resources that is consistent withtheir service expectation based on the QoS specified in their SLAs.Multiplexed satellite beam resources 210-b may represent statisticalmultiplexing based on traffic policies (e.g., CIR, etc.), or mayrepresent the physical resource capacity of the satellite beam, in someembodiments.

As described above, dynamic multiplexing of traffic from fixed terminalsand mobile users on the same satellite beam can take advantage ofstatistical multiplexing of large numbers of users and on the differentusage patterns between fixed terminals and mobile users. FIGS. 3A and 3Billustrate dynamic multiplexing of traffic from fixed terminals andmobile users on the same satellite beam in accordance with variousembodiments. FIG. 3A may illustrate, for example, resource demands forsatellite terminals ST1, ST2, and STN (e.g., satellite terminals 130-a,130-n, etc.) and mobile devices A1, A2, B1, and B2 (e.g., associatedwith mobile users 180, etc.) over time. Mobile devices A1 and A2 may beconnected to a mobile terminal A (e.g., mobile terminal 170-a) whilemobile devices B1 and B2 may be connected to a different mobile terminalB 170. Each satellite terminal 130 may be provisioned for serviceaccording to terminal-specific traffic policies including CIR 220 and/orPIR 225. The users associated with mobile devices A1, A2, and B1 may beprovisioned for service according to user-specific traffic policiesincluding CIR 240 and/or PIR 245. The user associated with mobile deviceB2 may be provisioned for service according to user-specific trafficpolicies including CIR 250 and/or PIR 255, which may be, for example, ahigher level of service than CIR 240 and/or PIR 245.

Over the time period illustrated in FIG. 3A, fixed terminals ST1, ST2,and STN may request resources illustrated by resource demands 330-a,330-b, and 330-n, respectively. Mobile devices A1, A2, B1, and B2 mayrequest resources illustrated by resource demands 340-a-1, 340-a-2,340-b-1, and 340-b-2, respectively. Resource demands 330 and/or 340 mayrepresent an amount of resources requested for transmission of datatraffic (e.g., FL or RL) associated with a data traffic stream to orfrom each fixed terminal 130 and/or mobile device 175 over a beam of thesatellite system.

FIG. 3B may illustrate scheduled resources for fixed terminals ST1, ST2,and STN, and mobile devices A1, A2, B1, and B2, and the resources 310(e.g., data capacity of the beam) to be allocated to the fixed terminalsand/or mobile devices serviced by the beam. System resources of thesatellite beam 310 serving fixed terminals 130 (e.g., ST1, ST2, andSTN), and mobile terminals 170 (e.g., mobile terminal A, mobile terminalB, etc.) may be broken up into different frequencies, carriers,spreading codes, and the like. Thus, the system resources 310 may be,for example, capacity of the beam (a portion or all) and may beallocated to fixed and/or mobile terminals by carriers, time divisionmultiplexing, spreading codes, and the like.

As illustrated by FIG. 3B, resources may be dynamically allocatedbetween fixed terminals and mobile users according to demand andprovisioned traffic policies. Scheduled resource allocations illustratedin FIG. 3B include resource allocations 320-a, 320-b, and 320-n forfixed terminals ST1, ST2, and STN, respectively. The mobile users 180may be scheduled according to resource allocations 325-a-1, 325-a-2,325-b-1, and 325-b-2 for mobile devices A1, A2, B1, and B2,respectively. In FIG. 3B, resource allocations 320-a, 320-b, 320-n,325-a-1, 325-a-2, 325-b-1, and 325-b-2 may represent amounts ofresources used and may not represent a range of frequencies or carriersof the system bandwidth used by the respective terminals or mobileusers. For example, for each time period, fixed terminals 130 and mobiledevices 175 may be allocated the illustrated amount of resources on anyavailable frequency range and/or carriers and the allocated frequencyranges and/or carriers for one fixed terminal 130 or mobile device 175may vary with time.

At time T1, the satellite beam may be uncongested and fixed terminals130 and mobile devices 175 may be allocated system resources based ontheir demand and associated traffic policies (e.g., up to PIR 225, 245,255, etc.). Thus, at time T1, mobile terminal A may be allocatedresources 370-1, mobile terminal B may be allocated resources 375-1, andfixed terminals ST1, ST2, and STN may be allocated resources 365-1.

At time T2, the amount of resource demands has increased, and thesatellite beam resources 310 (e.g., data capacity) may be congested. Asillustrated in FIG. 3A for time T2, fixed terminal ST1 may requestresources 335-a, fixed terminal STN may request resources 345-a, mobiledevice A1 may request resources 350-a, mobile device B1 may requestresources 355-a, and mobile device B2 may request resources 360-a. Asillustrated in FIG. 3B, resources may be allocated at time T2 based onthe demand of each fixed terminal 130, each mobile device 175 (ordevices for a particular mobile user 180), and the terminal-specific anduser-specific traffic policies to provide service according to the SLAsfor each fixed terminal 130 and mobile user 180. In embodiments, datatraffic streams associated with each fixed terminal and/or mobile devicemay be scheduled on resources according to demand and an associated CIR(e.g., CIR 220, 240, and/or 250, etc.). For example, fixed terminals ST1and STN may be allocated resources 335-b and 345-b at time T2,respectively. Resources 335-b and 345-b may correspond to CIR 220-a andCIR 220-n, respectively. Mobile devices A1, B1, and B2 may be allocatedresources 350-b, 355-b, and 360-b at time T2, respectively. Resources350-b, 355-b, and 360-b may correspond to CIR 240-a-1, CIR 240-b-1, andCIR 250-b-2, respectively.

At time T2, mobile terminal A may be allocated resources 370-2, mobileterminal B may be allocated resources 375-2, and fixed terminals ST1,ST2, and STN may be allocated resources 365-2. Thus, each mobileterminal 170 may be allocated resources based on individual allocationsfor each connected mobile device 175, where resources for each connectedmobile device 175 are allocated based on user-specific traffic policiesof the associated mobile user 180. Additionally, the proportion ofresources (e.g., beam bandwidth 310, etc.) allocated to all mobileterminals 170 may vary with time and according to demand and trafficpolicies.

Increasing the number of users and types of use (e.g., fixed terminalsvs. mobile users, etc.) may increase the efficiency of statisticalmultiplexing for beams of the satellite system. For example, astatistical multiplexing factor (e.g., 5×, 10×, 100×, etc.) ofprovisioned PIR usage vs. physical satellite resources may be increasedif different types of users have different resource use profiles. Forexample, fixed terminals may typically use more resources during eveninghours while mobile users receiving service on airplanes may tend to usemore resources in the early morning and afternoon when a higherproportion of flights are in the air.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of aspects of a satellite communications system 400for providing network access service to mobile users via mobileterminals with per-user QoS in accordance with various embodiments.Satellite communications system 400 includes a ground-based serviceprovider network 410 and one or more satellites 105 providing networkaccess service to mobile users 180 using mobile devices 175 via mobileterminals 170. The satellite(s) 105 may be multi-beam satellites and maycommunicate with satellite gateways 115 via forward links 135 and returnlinks 140 (e.g., via a feeder beam of the satellite(s) 105). Thesatellite(s) 105 may communicate with the mobile terminals 170 overforward links 155 and return links 160 (e.g., via a service beam of thesatellite(s) 105). Forward links 155 and return links 160 may beestablished via a first service beam of the multi-beam satellite systemand may be transitioned to a second, different service beam (e.g.,handover of the mobile terminal) based on mobility of the mobileterminal 170 (e.g., movement from the coverage area of the first servicebeam to the coverage area of the second service beam). The secondservice beam may be a second service beam of the same satellite or aservice beam of a second satellite of the satellite communication system400.

The satellite provider network 410 may include satellite gateways 115,core nodes 445, and network operations center (NOC) 415. NOC 415 maymanage satellite operations and network traffic. The satellite systemprovider network 410 may include a network operations center (NOC) 415,one or more core nodes 445 for managing and controlling traffic flow innetwork 410, and satellite gateways 115. Satellite service providernetwork 410 may also be connected to the Internet 450 and/or othernetworks such as content delivery networks (CDNs), private networks, andthe like (not shown). NOC 415 may include network management services(NMS) 425 and/or billing/operation support systems (B/OSS) 420. NMS 425may manage configuration and monitoring of network 410 and may includesystems for network fault management, performance monitoring,configuration management, and/or network diagnostics. B/OSS 420 mayinclude policy management and billing/reporting functions. NOC 415 andcore nodes 445 may be connected through various networking connectionsand/or protocols, for example, virtual private LAN service 440.

In communications system 400, multiple mobile users are provided networkaccess services via each mobile terminal 170. Mobile users 180 may usemobile devices 175 to connect to mobile terminals 170 using wired orwireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) connections. Each mobile user 180signs up for network access service via communications system 400according to an SLA and the mobile users 180 are provisioned andallocated system resources of the satellite communications system 400according to their demand and the traffic policies associated with theirSLAs. For example, data traffic streams between each mobile user onairplane 185-b and the Internet 450 may be individually managed so thatQoS for each user is largely unaffected by data usage of other users onairplane 185-b. Management of data traffic streams for each mobile usermay be performed by scheduling transmissions of the data traffic streamsindividually and/or traffic shaping of the data traffic streamsindividually.

In embodiments, satellite communications system 400 manages addressingand traffic flow for mobile devices 175 connected to mobile terminals170 in a way that data traffic for individual mobile devices 175 can beidentified within the satellite provider network 410. In one example,each mobile device 175 is assigned a public or private IP address (e.g.,public IPv4 or public IPv6 address) and traffic is managed for eachmobile device 175 based on the assigned IP addresses. In alternativeembodiments, techniques for creating one or more virtual LANs (VLANs)over satellite communications system 400 may be used to manage trafficflows for mobile devices 175 on an individual basis. For example, aseparate VLAN may be set up for each mobile terminal 170, each user,and/or each mobile device, where each VLAN provides a separate virtualnetwork for traffic to and from the service provider network and themobile terminal 170 and/or the mobile devices 175. In this way, trafficfor each mobile device of the VLAN can be identified by the serviceprovider network and managed on a per-user and/or per mobile devicebasis. In yet other alternative embodiments, tunneling protocols (e.g.,GRE, etc.) may be used to identify individual traffic streams associatedwith each mobile device 175 in the service provider network for managingtraffic flow on an individual mobile device and/or mobile user basis.Each mobile device may be assigned a separate tunneling protocol addressidentifiable to the service provider network while payload addresses(e.g., IP address of the mobile terminal 170) for multiple devices maybe the same.

Traffic flow management may be performed by scheduling and/or trafficshaping. In embodiments, satellite communications system 400 employsforward-link traffic shaping at the service provider network 410 and/orreturn-link traffic shaping at the multi-user satellite terminals 170 asdescribed in more detail below. Forward-link traffic shaping may beperformed for each mobile device 175 by identifying downstream trafficdestined for the mobile device 175 and managing the traffic flowindividually for the mobile device according to traffic policiesassociated with the mobile device 175. Forward-link traffic shaping maybe performed at the core nodes 445, or in the gateways 115 in someembodiments. Return-link traffic shaping may be performed individuallyfor each mobile device 175 by identifying uplink traffic from eachmobile device at the mobile terminal and managing the uplink trafficflow individually for each mobile device 175 according to theuser-specific traffic policies of the associate mobile user 180.

In embodiments, functions of the satellite provider network 410 formanaging traffic flow to provide per-user QoS via the multi-usersatellite terminals 170 are performed in the core nodes 445. However,managing traffic flow may be performed in other entities of thesatellite provider network 410 including gateways 115 and/or otherentities.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a core node 445-a for managing traffic flowto provide per-user QoS in accordance with various embodiments. Corenode 445-a may illustrate, for example, aspects of core nodes 445 ofFIG. 4. Core node 445-a may include L2/L3 switch 510, accelerationserver 515, traffic shaper 520, network interface 525 (e.g., accessservice network gateway (ASN-GW), etc.), mobility manager 530, mobileuser acceleration module 535, and/or mobile user traffic shaper 540.Mobility manager 530 may manage mobility of mobile terminals 170 and/ormobile devices 175.

Core node 445-a may receive traffic from external networks (e.g., theInternet) via network interface 525 and perform traffic shaping and/oracceleration of the traffic for transmission of the traffic to thedestination devices via the satellite(s) 105. Acceleration module 515and mobile user acceleration server 535 may use various protocols foraccelerating network traffic transmitted and received via satellite(s)105. For example, packet payloads may be replaced with an accelerationprotocol configured to allow for various acceleration techniques to beperformed on the payloads. For example, acceleration techniques includecompression, byte caching, prefetching, multicasting, delta coding, andthe like.

In embodiments, the core node 445-a may include separate traffic shapingand acceleration paths for traffic to the fixed satellite subscriberterminals and mobile users as illustrated in FIG. 5. In alternativeembodiments, the functions of mobile user traffic shaper module 540 maybe implemented in traffic shaper module 520 and the functions of mobileuser acceleration module 535 may be implemented in acceleration server515. Traffic shaper module 520 may identify and shape FL data trafficstreams for transmission to fixed terminals 130 and mobile user trafficshaper module 540 may identify and shape FL data traffic streams to betransmitted to mobile devices associated with mobile users, as describedin more detail below.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal 170-c in accordance withvarious embodiments. Mobile terminal 170-c may illustrate, for example,aspects of the mobile terminals 170 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4. Mobile terminal170-c may include satellite modem 610, return link traffic shaper 615,acceleration server 620, controller 625, and return link scheduler 635.

Satellite modem 610 manages communications between the mobile terminal170-c and satellite(s) 105 via satellite antenna 165-c. Satellite modem610 may be configured to communicate with satellite(s) 105 over one ormore frequency bands (e.g., Ka, Ku, etc.) and may be configured toautomatically orient antenna 165-c to transmit signals to and receivesignals from satellite(s) 105 even when mobile (e.g., mounted on anairplane, boat, etc.).

Mobile devices connect to mobile terminal 170 through satellite terminalinterface 630, which may support connection to various access pointsincluding wired and/or wireless connections such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, andthe like. Controller 625 may receive service requests from mobiledevices 175 and communicate with the service provider network (e.g., viasatellite(s) 105) to receive account information (e.g., trafficpolicies, etc.) for mobile users associated with the mobile devices 175.For example, controller 625 may provide support for users signing up fornew service and/or signing in for service according to an existing SLA.

Acceleration module 620 may perform similar techniques for acceleratingdata traffic transmitted and received over satellite(s) 105 as describedabove with reference to mobile user acceleration module 535.

In embodiments, mobile terminal 170-c supports per-user traffic flowmanagement for communication services provided via mobile terminal170-c. Per-user traffic flow management may include per-user resourcescheduling and/or per-user traffic shaping. In some embodiments, returnlink scheduler 635 receives return link resource allocations for themobile terminal 170 and schedules data traffic from the mobile devicesfor transmission on the return link resource allocations. The returnlink scheduler 635 may allocate the return link resource allocationsamong data traffic streams associated with the mobile devices 175according to the user-specific traffic policies for users associatedwith each mobile device 175. For example, the return link scheduler 635may allocate the return link resource allocations according to theuser-specific traffic policies, providing return link resources for eachmobile device weighted according to the user-specific traffic policiesassociated with the mobile device. Additionally or alternatively, thereturn link scheduler 635 may give priority to some types of traffic(e.g., VoIP, streaming media, HTTP, etc.) over others.

In some embodiments, mobile terminal 170 includes return link trafficshaper 615 for shaping return link traffic flow on a per-user basisand/or applying fairness policies to return link traffic flows frommultiple mobile devices according to traffic policies associated withthe mobile users. The functionality of return link traffic shaper 615 isdescribed in more detail below.

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram 700 illustrating aspects of providingper-user QoS for mobile devices connected to mobile terminals inaccordance with various embodiments. FIG. 7 may illustrate, for example,aspects of systems 100 and/or 400 for providing forward link trafficshaping on a per-user basis for mobile devices 175 connected to a mobileterminal 170.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, multiple fixed satellite terminals 130-a to130-n may be provided satellite network access service via a satellitebeam 705 of a multi-beam satellite 105. One or more CPEs 160 may beconnected to each fixed satellite terminal 130. Each fixed satelliteterminal 130 may be assigned a public or private IP address (e.g., IPv4or IPv6 address) and may provide NAT services to the connected CPEs 160.Each fixed satellite terminal 130 may be associated withterminal-specific traffic policies. The terminal-specific trafficpolicies may correspond to an SLA between the subscriber associated withthe terminal and the satellite network provider.

In diagram 700, forward link-traffic 710 is received (e.g., from theInternet 450 or other network) at core node 445-b. Core node 445-b mayidentify individual traffic streams (e.g., by destination IP address,VLAN tag, socket port number, etc.) and separate the streams for forwardlink traffic shaping by traffic shaper 520-a and/or mobile trafficshaper 540-a. While traffic shaper 520-a and mobile traffic shaper 540-aare illustrated in FIG. 5 as separate modules, these functions may becombined in a single traffic shaper module in some embodiments.

Mobile devices 175-c-1 to 175-c-n connect to mobile terminal 170-d,which also provides network access service via satellite beam 705 (e.g.,located on an airplane located within the coverage area of beam 705).Each mobile user associated with mobile devices 175-c-1 to 175-c-n mayhave an existing SLA with the satellite network service provider, or maysign up for service upon connecting to mobile terminal 170-d. Whenmobile devices 175-c-1 to 175-c-n connect to mobile terminal 170-d, themobile devices 175 may be associated with user-specific traffic policiesaccording to the SLAs of the mobile users.

Traffic shaper 520-a may manage forward link traffic flow to eachsatellite terminal 130 on a per-terminal basis. For example, datastreams 725-a to 725-n associated with terminals 130-a to 130-n may bereceived at the traffic shaper 520-a. Each data stream 725 may includeforward link data traffic destined for multiple CPEs connected to thesatellite terminal. For example, data stream 725-a may include FL datatraffic for CPE 160-a and CPE 160-b in a single data stream with asingle destination address (e.g., public IP address). Data streamtraffic shapers 720 may manage data streams 725 according to the amountof resources requested for data streams 725, the terminal-specifictraffic policies associated with fixed terminals 130, and the amount ofresources requested by other fixed terminals 130. Data stream trafficshapers 720 output shaped data streams 730 for transmission viasatellite beam 705 to terminals 130. For example, fixed terminal 130-amay be provisioned for service at a PIR of 5 Mb/s. Data stream 725-a maybe received at data stream traffic shaper with a traffic rate of 7 Mb/s.Data stream traffic shaper may perform traffic shaping to output shapeddata stream 730-a at the PIR for fixed terminal 130-a of 5 Mb/s.Terminal 130-a receives shaped data stream 730-a and performs NAT orother addressing functions and sends the data (e.g., data 745-a and/ordata 745-b) to the appropriate CPE 160.

Mobile traffic shaper 540-a may manage forward link traffic flow to eachmobile device 175 on a per-user basis. As illustrated in FIG. 7, datastreams 750-1 to 750-n may be received at the mobile traffic shaper540-a and the mobile traffic shaper 540-a may identify the data streams750-1 to 750-n as associated with mobile devices 175-c-1 to 175-c-n,respectively. Data stream traffic shapers 740-a to 740-n may manage dataflow of data streams 750-1 to 750-n according to the amount of resourcesrequested for the data streams, the user-specific traffic policiesassociated with mobile device 175-c-1 (or set of mobile devices asdescribed below), and the amount of resources requested by otherterminals and/or mobile devices. Data stream traffic shapers 740-a to740-n output shaped data streams 755-1 to 755-n, for transmission viasatellite beam 705 in data stream 760 to mobile terminal 170-d. Mobileterminal 170-d receives traffic stream 760 including shaped data streams755-1 to 755-n and forwards the individual shaped data streams 755-1 to755-n (e.g., over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and the like) to the destinationmobile devices 175-c-1 to 175-c-n. Forward link resources for datastream 760 may be allocated on satellite beam 705 for mobile terminal170-d according to the aggregate resources of the shaped data streams755.

Data stream traffic shapers 720, 740 may employ various techniques forcontrolling the volume of traffic of data streams including delayingpackets, dropping packets, packet marking, and/or other techniques. Datastream traffic shapers 720, 740 may also shape traffic streams accordingto traffic classification. For example, data stream traffic shapers 720,740 may give priority to some types of traffic (e.g., VoIP, streamingmedia, HTTP, etc.) over others.

In some embodiments, each illustrated mobile device 175 may includemultiple mobile devices associated with a single SLA. For example, amobile user (or users) may sign up for service according to an SLA andthen register multiple mobile devices for service under the SLA. In thisinstance, the multiple mobile devices may be associated with a singleset of user-specific traffic policies according to the SLA. Thus, themultiple mobile devices associated with the SLA may be treated as asingle device for traffic flow management purposes. As such, the totalforward link data traffic for the multiple mobile devices may be managedaccording to the user-specific traffic policies of the SLA associatedwith the user or users.

FIG. 8 is a simplified diagram 800 illustrating aspects of return linktraffic shaping for providing per-user QoS for mobile devices connectedto mobile terminals in accordance with various embodiments. FIG. 8 mayillustrate, for example, aspects of systems 100 and/or 400 for providingreturn link traffic shaping on a per-user basis for mobile devicesconnected to a mobile terminal 170.

In FIG. 8, mobile devices 175-d-1 to 175-d-n connect to mobile terminal170-e for network access service. Each mobile user of mobile devices175-d-1 to 175-d-n may have an existing SLA with the satellite networkservice provider, or may sign up for service upon connecting to mobileterminal 170-e. When mobile devices 175-d-1 to 175-d-n connect to mobileterminal 170-e, the mobile devices 175 may be associated withuser-specific traffic policies according to the SLAs of the mobileusers. For example, upon receiving a service request (e.g., a new usersigning up for service or a returning user signing in) for a mobiledevice, mobile terminal 170-e may communicate with the satelliteprovider network to receive the user-specific traffic policiesassociated with the user. Subsequently, the user-specific trafficpolicies may be used for return-link traffic shaping of return link datastreams sent from the mobile device.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, multiple return link data streams 830-a to830-n are received at mobile terminal 170-e for transmission to anexternal network (e.g., the Internet). Return link traffic shaper 615-amay individually manage the traffic flows for data streams 830 based onan allocation of resources to satellite modem 610-a, the resourcesrequested by data streams 830, and the user-specific traffic policiesassociated with the users of mobile devices 175. For example, returnlink resource allocations for the service beam that provides service tomobile terminal 170-e may be scheduled by the service provider network.Satellite modem 610-a may request uplink resources in an amount based onthe amount of data traffic in data streams 830 received at the mobileterminal 170-e and the user-specific traffic policies for all users. Forexample, Satellite modem 610-a may request uplink resources for theservice beam based on aggregate resources for transmitting the data indata streams 830, up to a point where the data streams 830 exceed theuser-specific traffic policies. Where data streams 830 exceed theuser-specific traffic policies (e.g., PIR, etc.), the satellite modem610-a may request uplink resources based on the user-specific trafficpolicies instead of the demand requested by the data streams 830. Basedon the congestion of the satellite beam at the time of allocatingresources, the satellite modem 810-a may not be allocated the sameamount requested by the satellite modem 610-a. If the allocated amountis less than the requested amount, the allocated amount may bedistributed among the mobile devices 175 according to the user-specifictraffic policies associated with the mobile devices 175.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a network resource scheduler 900in accordance with various embodiments. The network resource scheduler900 may illustrate, for example, aspects of gateways 115, core nodes445, and/or network operations center 415 of FIGS. 1, 4, 5, and/or 7.The network resource scheduler 900 of the present example includes afixed terminal service request module 905, a mobile user service requestmodule 910, an SLA data store 915, a fixed terminal traffic policymodule 920, a mobile user traffic policy module 925, a satellite beamcapacity module 930, a satellite resource allocation module 935, a fixedterminal network request module 940, a mobile user network requestmodule 945, and a session data store 950. Each of these components maybe in communication with each other, directly or indirectly. In certainexamples, the network resource scheduler 900 may be implemented by asingle physical device or component. Alternatively, the functionality ofthe network resource scheduler 900 may be spread across multiplegeographically separate devices and systems. For example, the satellitebeam capacity module 930, satellite resource allocation module 935, thefixed terminal network request module 940, and/or the mobile usernetwork request module 945 may be implemented at a central core nodethat coordinates communication of the satellite communications systems100 and/or 400 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and/or 4.

The fixed terminal service request module 905 may receive servicerequests from fixed satellite terminals. The service requests may beassociated with terminal-specific service level agreements (SLAs). Theterminal-specific SLAs may define, for example, the level of service tobe provided by the satellite network provider to the subscriber of thecommunication service. The level of service may be defined by, forexample, rate-based, usage-based, and/or time based service parameters.

The mobile user service request module 910 may receive service requestsfrom mobile devices. The service requests may be associated withuser-specific SLAs of mobile users. The mobile users may have anexisting SLA with the satellite networking provider or may sign up forservice according to an SLA upon connecting to one of the mobileterminals.

Fixed terminal traffic policy module 920 may assign terminal-specifictraffic policies to each fixed satellite terminal according to theassociated terminal-specific SLA. The fixed terminal traffic policymodule 920 may retrieve information related to SLAs between thesatellite network service provider and fixed-terminal subscribers fromthe SLA data store 915 for assigning terminal-specific traffic policiesto fixed terminals based on service requests received by fixed terminalservice request module 905. The terminal-specific traffic policies mayspecify traffic flow management parameters (e.g., MinIR, CIR, PIR, etc.)for managing traffic flow to data streams (e.g., FL and/or RL) for eachterminal.

Mobile user traffic policy module 925 may assign user-specific trafficpolicies to each mobile device according to the associated user-specificSLA. The mobile user traffic policy module 925 may retrieve informationrelated to SLAs between the satellite network service provider andmobile users from the SLA data store 915 for assigning user-specifictraffic policies to mobile devices based on service requests received bymobile user service request module 910. The user-specific trafficpolicies may specify traffic flow management parameters (e.g., MinIR,CIR, PIR, etc.) for managing data streams (e.g., FL and/or RL) for eachmobile user. Mobile user traffic policy module 925 may transmituser-specific traffic policies to mobile terminals 170 for trafficmanagement (e.g., scheduling, traffic shaping, etc.) at the mobileterminals 170 according to the user-specific traffic policies.

Fixed terminal network request module 940 may receive resource requestsfrom fixed satellite terminals serviced via a first satellite beam ofthe multi-beam satellite. Each fixed satellite terminal resource requestmay be associated with a data traffic stream. The fixed satelliteresource requests may be associated with FL data traffic streams or RLdata traffic streams.

Mobile user network request module 945 may receive resource requestsfrom mobile devices via a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may beserviced via the first satellite beam. Each mobile device resourcerequest may be associated with a data traffic stream. The mobile deviceresource requests may be associated with FL data traffic streams or RLdata traffic streams

Satellite beam capacity module 930 may identify beam resources of thefirst satellite beam for supporting the resource requests received fromthe fixed satellite terminals and the mobile terminal. The identifiedbeam resources may be a portion of or all beam resources of the firstsatellite beam. The identified beam resources may include, for example,frequency, polarization, and/or time resources for transmission of dataover the first satellite beam

Satellite resource allocation module 935 may allocate the identifiedbeam resources to the fixed satellite terminals and to the mobile users.The identified beam resources may be allocated according to the amountof the resource requests from each of the fixed satellite terminals andmobile users, as well as the terminal-specific traffic policiesassociated with the fixed satellite terminals and the user-specifictraffic policies associated with the mobile devices. The amount ofresources allocated to fixed and mobile terminals may vary with time andaccording to demand and traffic policies.

FL traffic shaping module 955 may perform forward link traffic shapingfor data traffic streams for the fixed terminals and the mobile users.FL traffic shaping module 955 may include aspects of traffic shapers 520and/or mobile user traffic shapers 540 as described with reference toFIGS. 5 and/or 7. For example, FL traffic shaping module 955 may shapedata traffic streams for individual fixed terminals based on theterminal-specific traffic policies associated with the fixed terminals.FL traffic shaping module 955 may shape data traffic streams forindividual mobile users based on the user-specific traffic policiesassociated with mobile devices of the mobile users. For example, FLtraffic shaping module 955 may identify individual forward link datatraffic streams destined for mobile devices serviced by a mobileterminal 170 based on public IP addresses, VLAN tags, and/or tunnelingprotocol headers of the forward link data traffic streams. One mobileuser may be identified with multiple mobile devices and the FL trafficshaping may be performed based on an aggregated data traffic stream forthe mobile devices associated with the single mobile user. FL trafficshaping module 955 may communicate with session data store 950 formanaging traffic flow including packet buffering and/or traffic usageprofile information.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart diagram of an example method 1000 ofallocating resources in a satellite communications system providingper-user QoS for mobile devices and dynamic multiplexing of traffic fromfixed terminals and mobile users on the same satellite beams inaccordance with various embodiments. The method may be performed, forexample, by the satellite service provider 410 of FIG. 4 and/or thenetwork resource scheduler 900 of FIG. 9.

At block 1005 of method 1000, a communication service is provided via amulti-beam satellite. For example, a network access service may beprovided via beams of a multi-beam satellite such as the multi-beamsatellites 105 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and/or 4.

At block 1010, service requests may be received from fixed satelliteterminals. The service requests may be associated with terminal-specificservice level agreements (SLAs). The terminal-specific SLAs may define,for example, the level of service to be provided by the satellitenetwork provider to the subscriber of the communication service. Thelevel of service may be defined by, for example, rate-based,usage-based, and/or time based service parameters.

At block 1015, terminal-specific traffic policies may be assigned at anetwork resource scheduler to each fixed satellite terminal according tothe associated terminal-specific SLA. The terminal-specific trafficpolicies may specify traffic flow management parameters (e.g., MinIR,CIR, PIR, etc.) for managing traffic flow to data streams (e.g., FLand/or RL) for each terminal.

At block 1020, service requests may be received from mobile devices viaone or more mobile terminals. Each mobile terminal may be incommunication with the multi-beam satellite and may be configured toprovide the communication service concurrently to a plurality of mobiledevices. The service requests may be associated with user-specific SLAsof mobile users. The mobile users may have an existing SLA with thesatellite networking provider or may sign up for service according to anSLA upon connecting to one of the mobile terminals.

At block 1025, user-specific traffic policies may be assigned to eachmobile device according to the associated user-specific SLA. Theuser-specific traffic policies may specify traffic flow managementparameters (e.g., MinIR, CIR, PIR, etc.) for managing data streams(e.g., FL and/or RL) for each mobile user.

At block 1030, resource requests may be received from fixed satelliteterminals serviced via a first satellite beam of the multi-beamsatellite. Each fixed satellite terminal resource request may beassociated with a data traffic stream. The fixed satellite resourcerequests may be associated with FL data traffic streams or RL datatraffic streams.

At block 1035, resource requests may be received from mobile devices viaa mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may also be serviced via thefirst satellite beam of the multi-beam satellite. Each mobile deviceresource request may be associated with a data traffic stream. Themobile device resource requests may be associated with FL data trafficstreams or RL data traffic streams.

At block 1040, beam resources of the first satellite beam may beidentified for supporting the fixed satellite resource requests and themobile device resource requests. The identified beam resources may be aportion of or all beam resources of the first satellite beam. Theidentified beam resources may include, for example, frequency,polarization, and/or time resources for transmission of data over thefirst satellite beam.

At block 1045, the identified beam resources may be allocated to thefixed satellite terminals and to the mobile users. The identified beamresources may be allocated according to the amount of the resourcerequests from each of the fixed satellite terminals and mobile users, aswell as the terminal-specific traffic policies associated with the fixedsatellite terminals and the user-specific traffic policies associatedwith the mobile devices. For example, the amount of resources allocatedto fixed and mobile terminals may vary with time and according to demandand traffic policies. Further, data traffic for each mobile user may beindividually scheduled to control QoS for mobile users on a per-userbasis.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart diagram of an example method 1100 ofallocating resources in a satellite communications system providingper-user QoS for mobile devices in accordance with various embodiments.The method may be performed, for example, by the satellite serviceprovider 410 of FIG. 4 and/or the network resource scheduler 900 of FIG.9.

At block 1105 of method 1100, a communication service is provided via amulti-beam satellite. For example, a network access service may beprovided via beams of a multi-beam satellite such as the multi-beamsatellites 105 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and/or 4.

At block 1110, service requests may be received from mobile devices viaone or more mobile terminals. Each mobile terminal may be incommunication with the multi-beam satellite and may be configured toprovide the communication service concurrently to a plurality of mobiledevices. The service requests may be associated with user-specific SLAsof mobile users. The mobile users may have an existing SLA with thesatellite networking provider or may sign up for service according to anSLA upon connecting to one of the mobile terminals.

At block 1115, user-specific traffic policies may be assigned to eachmobile device according to the associated user-specific SLA. Theuser-specific traffic policies may specify traffic flow managementparameters (e.g., MinIR, CIR, PIR, etc.) for managing data streams(e.g., FL and/or RL) for each mobile user.

At block 1120, resource requests may be received from mobile devices viaa mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may be serviced via a firstsatellite beam of the multi-beam satellite. Each mobile device resourcerequest may be associated with a data traffic stream.

The mobile device resource requests may be associated with FL datatraffic streams or RL data traffic streams.

At block 1125, beam resources of the first satellite beam may beidentified for supporting the mobile device resource requests. Theidentified beam resources may be a portion of or all beam resources ofthe first satellite beam. The identified beam resources may include, forexample, frequency, polarization, and/or time resources for transmissionof data over the first satellite beam.

Optionally, at block 1130, traffic shaping may be performed for datatraffic streams for each mobile device. For example, forward-linktraffic shaping may be performed by identifying the data traffic streamsdestined for each mobile device (e.g., using IP addresses assigned tothe mobile devices, VLAN tags, tunneling protocol tags, etc.) andmanaging the traffic flow individually for each mobile device accordingto traffic policies associated with the mobile device. Return linktraffic shaping may be performed at the mobile terminal by applyinguser-specific traffic policies individually to return link data trafficstreams from mobile device(s) associated with each mobile user.

At block 1135, beam resources may be scheduled for transmission ofportions of the data traffic streams to the mobile devices in amountsaccording to their respective resource requests and user-specifictraffic policies. Scheduling of beam resources for each data trafficstream associated with the mobile devices may also employ trafficprioritization. For example, some types of traffic (e.g., VoIP traffic,HTTP traffic, etc.) may be prioritized over other types of traffic forresource scheduling.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart diagram of an example method 1200 fordynamic multiplexing of traffic from fixed terminals and mobile users onthe same satellite beams in accordance with various embodiments. Themethod may be performed, for example, by the satellite service provider410 of FIG. 4 and/or the network resource scheduler 900 of FIG. 9.

At block 1205 of method 1200, a communication service is provided via amulti-beam satellite. For example, a network access service may beprovided via beams of a multi-beam satellite such as the multi-beamsatellites 105 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and/or 4.

At block 1210, a first set of resource requests may be received fromfixed terminals and mobile devices for a first time period. The resourcerequests may be associated with data traffic streams (e.g., FL or RL)for the fixed terminals and mobile devices. The resource requests mayspecify requested resources for the first time period for transmissionof the data traffic streams.

At block 1215, a first portion of beam resources may be scheduled fordata traffic streams associated with the fixed terminals and a secondportion of beam resources may be scheduled for data traffic streamsassociated with the mobile devices. The first and second portions ofbeam resources may be scheduled from a commonly provisioned resourcepool.

At block 1220, a second set of resource requests may be received fromfixed terminals and mobile devices for a second time period. Theresource requests may be associated with data traffic streams (e.g., FLor RL) for the fixed terminals and mobile devices. The resource requestsmay specify requested resources for the second time period fortransmission of the data traffic streams.

At block 1225, a third portion of beam resources may be scheduled fordata traffic streams associated with the fixed terminals and a fourthportion of beam resources may be scheduled for data traffic streamsassociated with the mobile devices. The third and fourth portions ofbeam resources may be scheduled from a commonly provisioned resourcepool. The third portion of beam resources allocated to the fixedterminals for the second time period may be different than the firstportion of beam resources allocated to the fixed terminals for the firsttime period. Similarly, the fourth portion of beam resources allocatedto the mobile users for the second time period may be different than thesecond portion of beam resources allocated to the mobile users for thefirst time period. In embodiments, the portions of beam resourcesallocated to the fixed terminals and mobile terminals are determinedbased on traffic policies associated with the fixed terminals and mobileusers, as well as the demand from the fixed terminals and mobile usersin the resource requests.

As will be readily understood, the components and modules described withreference to various embodiments above may, individually orcollectively, be implemented with one or more Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs) adapted to perform some or all of theapplicable functions in hardware. Alternatively, the functions may beperformed by one or more other processing units (or cores), on one ormore integrated circuits. In other embodiments, other types ofintegrated circuits may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and other Semi-Custom ICs), which maybe programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of each unitmay also be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodiedin a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general orapplication-specific processors.

It should be noted that the methods, systems and devices discussed aboveare intended merely to be examples. It must be stressed that variousembodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, it should be appreciated that,in alternative embodiments, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and that various steps may be added,omitted or combined. Also, features described with respect to certainembodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Differentaspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similarmanner. Also, it should be emphasized that technology evolves and, thus,many of the elements are exemplary in nature and should not beinterpreted to limit the scope of embodiments of the principlesdescribed herein.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. For example, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shownwithout unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flow diagram or block diagram. Although each maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional stepsnot included in the figure.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, orcombinations thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks may be stored in a computer-readable medium such as a storagemedium. Processors may perform the necessary tasks.

Having described several embodiments, it will be recognized by those ofskill in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions,and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of theprinciples described herein. For example, the above elements may merelybe a component of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeprecedence over or otherwise modify the application of the principlesdescribed herein. Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before,during, or after the above elements are considered. Accordingly, theabove description should not be taken as limiting the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing a network access serviceon a vehicle, comprising: establishing, at a mobile terminal on thevehicle, a plurality of connections with a plurality of mobile deviceson the vehicle; receiving, at the mobile terminal, one or more forwardlink transmissions associated with the network access service over oneor more carriers of a first satellite beam of a multi-beam satellite,wherein the one or more forward link transmissions comprises first fixeddata traffic associated with a plurality of fixed terminals and firstmobile data traffic associated with the mobile terminal, and wherein atleast a subset of the first fixed data traffic and at least a subset ofthe first mobile data traffic is received over a same carrier of the oneor more carriers; demultiplexing, from the one or more forward linktransmissions, the first mobile data traffic; separating the firstmobile data traffic into respective data streams associated with theplurality of mobile devices; and communicating the respective datastreams to the plurality of mobile devices via the plurality ofconnections.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifyingeach of the respective data streams based on at least one of InternetProtocol (IP) addresses assigned to each of the plurality of mobiledevices, virtual local area network (VLAN) tag addresses assigned toeach of the plurality of mobile devices, or tunneling protocol addressesassigned to each of the plurality of mobile devices.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: associated each of the plurality of mobiledevices with user-specific traffic policies for the network accessservice.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user-specific trafficpolicies comprise at least one of a minimum information rate (MinIR), acommitted information rate (CIR), a peak information rate (PIR), or amaximum amount of data.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, at the mobile terminal, one or more second forward linktransmissions associated with the network access service over one ormore second carriers of a second, different satellite beam of themulti-beam satellite, wherein the one or more second forward linktransmissions comprises second fixed data traffic associated with asecond plurality of fixed terminals and second mobile data trafficassociated with the plurality of mobile devices, and wherein at least asubset of the second fixed data traffic and at least a subset of thesecond mobile data traffic is received over a same carrier of the one ormore second carriers; demultiplexing, from the one or more secondforward link transmissions, the second mobile data traffic; andseparating the second mobile data traffic into the respective datastreams associated with the plurality of mobile devices forcommunication to the plurality of mobile devices via the plurality ofconnections.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the demultiplexingcomprises one or more of frequency-domain demultiplexing, time-domaindemultiplexing, or code division demultiplexing.
 7. A mobile terminalfor providing a network access service on a vehicle, comprising: asatellite terminal interface that establishes a plurality of connectionswith a plurality of mobile devices on the vehicle; a satellite modemthat receives one or more forward link transmissions associated with thenetwork access service over one or more carriers of a first satellitebeam of a multi-beam satellite, wherein the one or more forward linktransmissions comprises first fixed data traffic associated with aplurality of fixed terminals and first mobile data traffic associatedwith the mobile terminal, and wherein at least a subset of the firstfixed data traffic and at least a subset of the first mobile datatraffic is received over a same carrier of the one or more carriers; anda controller that: demultiplexes, from the one or more forward linktransmissions, the first mobile data traffic; and separates the firstmobile data traffic into respective data streams associated with theplurality of mobile devices, wherein the satellite terminal interfacecommunicates the respective data streams to the plurality of mobiledevices via the plurality of connections.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the controller identifies each of the respective data streamsbased on at least one of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses assigned toeach of the plurality of mobile devices, virtual local area network(VLAN) tag addresses assigned to each of the plurality of mobiledevices, or tunneling protocol addresses assigned to each of theplurality of mobile devices.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein thecontroller associates each of the plurality of mobile devices withuser-specific traffic policies for the network access service.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the user-specific traffic policies compriseat least one of a minimum information rate (MinIR), a committedinformation rate (CIR), a peak information rate (PIR), or a maximumamount of data.
 11. The system of claim 7, wherein: the satellite modemreceives one or more second forward link transmissions associated withthe network access service over one or more second carriers of a second,different satellite beam of the multi-beam satellite, wherein the one ormore second forward link transmissions comprises second fixed datatraffic associated with a second plurality of fixed terminals and secondmobile data traffic associated with the plurality of mobile devices, andwherein at least a subset of the second fixed data traffic and at leasta subset of the second mobile data traffic is received over a samecarrier of the one or more second carriers; the controllerdemultiplexes, from the one or more second forward link transmissions,the second mobile data traffic and separates the second mobile datatraffic into the respective data streams associated with the pluralityof mobile devices for communication to the plurality of mobile devicesvia the plurality of connections.
 12. The system of claim 7, wherein thedemultiplexing comprises one or more of frequency-domain demultiplexing,time-domain demultiplexing, or code division demultiplexing.
 13. Amobile terminal for providing a network access service on a vehicle,comprising: at least one processor; a memory in communication with theprocessor, wherein the memory comprises instructions that, when executedby the at least on processor, cause the mobile terminal to: establish aplurality of connections with a plurality of mobile devices on thevehicle; receive one or more forward link transmissions associated withthe network access service over one or more carriers of a firstsatellite beam of a multi-beam satellite, wherein the one or moreforward link transmissions comprises first fixed data traffic associatedwith a plurality of fixed terminals and first mobile data trafficassociated with the mobile terminal, and wherein at least a subset ofthe first fixed data traffic and at least a subset of the first mobiledata traffic is received over a same carrier of the one or morecarriers; demultiplex, from the one or more forward link transmissions,the first mobile data traffic; separate the first mobile data trafficinto respective data streams associated with the plurality of mobiledevices; and communicate the respective data streams to the plurality ofmobile devices via the plurality of connections.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least on processor, cause the mobile terminal to:identify each of the respective data streams based on at least one ofInternet Protocol (IP) addresses assigned to each of the plurality ofmobile devices, virtual local area network (VLAN) tag addresses assignedto each of the plurality of mobile devices, or tunneling protocoladdresses assigned to each of the plurality of mobile devices.
 15. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the memory further comprises instructionsthat, when executed by the at least on processor, cause the mobileterminal to: associate each of the plurality of mobile devices withuser-specific traffic policies for the network access service.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the user-specific traffic policies compriseat least one of a minimum information rate (MinIR), a committedinformation rate (CIR), a peak information rate (PIR), or a maximumamount of data.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the memory furthercomprises instructions that, when executed by the at least on processor,cause the mobile terminal to: receive one or more second forward linktransmissions associated with the network access service over one ormore second carriers of a second, different satellite beam of themulti-beam satellite, wherein the one or more second forward linktransmissions comprises second fixed data traffic associated with asecond plurality of fixed terminals and second mobile data trafficassociated with the plurality of mobile devices, and wherein at least asubset of the second fixed data traffic and at least a subset of thesecond mobile data traffic is received over a same carrier of the one ormore second carriers; demultiplex, from the one or more second forwardlink transmissions, the second mobile data traffic; and separate thesecond mobile data traffic into the respective data streams associatedwith the plurality of mobile devices for communication to the pluralityof mobile devices via the plurality of connections.
 18. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the demultiplexing comprises one or more offrequency-domain demultiplexing, time-domain demultiplexing, or codedivision demultiplexing.